Singapore: Rooftop car-park greens on the menu

It took Teo Hwa Kok seven years of research before his urban farm in Ang Mo Kio finally bore fruit.

In April, the first batch of Teo’s Georgina lettuce will go on sale. The vegetables are grown and harvested in the Citiponics farm, which was co-founded by the 56-year-old and is located at the roof of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) car park.

Using a technology called the Aqua Organic System, the farm produces vegetables that are free of pesticides, and its water- and energy-saving methods prevent mosquito breeding, Teo said.

A water tank pumps water into its system of 400 racks — pipes filled with customised pebbles where the seeds are planted — before it flows back into the tank and is recycled within the system.

“It’s just like our heart, it keeps on pumping the blood and then goes through all these arteries and comes back,” said Teo.

With the first batch of seeds planted in February, Teo expects to harvest the lettuce next month and sell his Citiponics produce at the NTUC supermarket at Ang Mo Kio Hub.